Good Enough To Eat: And now, for those promised pairings of cider and food

By CHRIS SMITH, SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

Published 10:00 pm, Wednesday, January 4, 2006

In last week's column on cooking with cider, I promised a follow-up on food and cider pairings. The suggestions that follow come from Western Washington cider makers, with reinforcement in several cases from Ann's and my experience.

As Richard and Susan Anderson from Westcott Bay Orchards suggest, cider is a fitting accompaniment to foods cooked in cider. It would go well with the pork, salmon and yam dishes cooked with recipes I shared last week.

There's general agreement among all the cider makers I consulted that the drink pairs well with spicy Asian foods, including curries. Wade Bennett of Rockridge Orchard in Enumclaw especially likes such matchups. He serves cider with sweet and sour dishes too. Having served cider numerous times with Indian and Indonesian curries, we can heartily endorse the cider makers' enthusiasm for this pairing.

That cider pairs so well with spicy Asian foods suggests it might make good matches with Mexican, North African and Middle Eastern dishes.

Carolyn Hax Media OS Playlist

Drew Zimmerman of Red Barn Ciders recommends it with Mexican dishes, especially those flavored with cumin. Several days ago, I paired it with a bowl of chili. It worked so well I began to think about how it would do with North African and Middle Eastern dishes seasoned with cumin and other assertive spices.

When we try one of those pairings, I'll let you know our verdict.

It seems intuitive that cider would be friends with salami, cured hams and many cheeses. In fact, most of the cider makers mentioned such combinations. Not so intuitive, but apt in my opinion, is Wade Bennett's pairing of cider and Delicata squash. My guess is that as cider drinking catches on, creative cooks and chefs will discover other natural matches.

I'd like to wind up this section with three memories provided by Ron Irvine of Irvine's Vintage Cider. All include food and cider pairings.

"I have three favorite memories of cider. All were in Normandy. The first one was when I was having lunch alone in Pont-l'Eveque, near Dieppe. I ordered a trout amandine and the waitress brought out an accompanying cider in a 500 ml bottle (stoppered) with a half-Champagne cork and string. It was perfect with the trout amandine, which was delectable and cooked just right.

"Second, at the conclusion of lunch the waitress brought out a square of the local cheese, Pont-l'Eveque. It was about the size of my fist, and the cider made it seem to come alive. The cheese was not hard, nor creamy; it was kind of soft with a delicate cheese character.

"And third, when I was last in Normandy I made a habit of getting different treatments of mussels: mussels cooked in cider, mussels with curry, mussels with calvados (apple brandy). All served with wonderful sparkling, slightly sweet, Norman cider."

Resolutions for gardeners

If you're a food gardener and resolutions are part of your celebration of the new year, here are a few suggestions for your consideration:

PLANT SOMETHING NEW

Whether you grow vegetables, berries or fruit trees, planting new varieties is part of the fun. When they're better flavored, more productive, disease-resistant or sized to fit your space, there's additional incentive to have them. There's a beneficial side effect too: Buying newbies supports the plant breeders whose work is the development of improved varieties.

PLANT SOMETHING OLD

Part of what I mean by this recommendation is plant some open-pollinated varieties. There's a temptation these days to rely on hybrids because they're vigorous and productive. But there are fine-tasting, reasonably productive varieties that aren't hybrids, and keeping them in circulation helps maintain a diversified gene pool. Hybrids don't help the gene pool.

A case can always be made for old varieties -- hybrid or open-pollinated -- that have proven themselves in your garden. Balance the excitement of the new with the dependability of the old.

PUT SOMETHING BY

Dry, freeze, can or otherwise put by some of the crops you grow. Preserved properly, they'll taste better than any you can buy. Moreover, some of these products make great gifts if you have more than you can use.